Pakistan condemns US drone strike

Pakistan has strongly condemned the US drone strike that killed four people in the country’s North Waziristan tribal region on Saturday, the Foreign Ministry.

An American spy aircraft fired missiles into Mir Ali area of North Waziristan and killed at least four people, official sources in the region said.

The drone aircraft fired two missiles on a house in Mir Ali area, destroying the building, tribesmen said.

“These unilateral strikes are a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” a Foreign Ministry statement said.

It said Pakistan has repeatedly emphasized the importance of bringing an immediate end to drone strikes.

“The Government of Pakistan has consistently maintained that drone strikes are counter-productive, entail loss of innocent civilian lives and have human rights and humanitarian implications.”

The Foreign Ministry said the US such strikes also set dangerous precedents in the inter-state relations.

“These drone strikes have a negative impact on the mutual desire of both countries to forge a cordial and cooperative relationship and to ensure peace and stability in the region,” the statement said.

The attack came a day after Pakistan announced to formally lodge its protest on U.S. drone attacks in the UN General Assembly session next month.

Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz in a policy statement in National Assembly on Friday said the U.S. attacks violate Pakistan’s sovereignty and international laws.

“A breakthrough is expected on the issue of U.S. drone strikes in the coming months,” he said, without elaborating.

The U.S. routinely fires missiles into Waziristan tribal region to target militants who are accused of crossing into Afghanistan for attacks on foreign and Afghan forces.

Aziz said that Pakistani leaders in their forthcoming meetings with U.S. authorities will ask them to stop drone strikes as they were counterproductive.

He added that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has supported Pakistan’s stance on the issue and he reiterated his stance during his visit this month.

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Posted by Tahir Khan on Aug 31 2013. Filed under Latest News, National, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.